Let’s take a moment to ignore the Habs

If you have been around and paying any sort of attention to hockey lately, then you’ve heard the varying scandals that the New York Rangers have apparently been instigating. Two offensive scandals have surfaced over the past day alone. First along came Derek Stepan’s not-really-broken jaw. Secondly, a “gentleman’s agreement” gone wrong with Ulf Sameulsson attending the Montreal Canadiens’ morning practice. If you’re a Canadiens fan, you must be asking yourself – when will the madness end?

Actually, if you’re a fan of the sport at all, you’re probably asking when this madness will end. Without paying attention to the cheap shot heard round the world (except for Montreal, apparently), the whining that has been happening so awfully frequently lately is exhausting. Let’s entertain the most recent issues that have the Canadiens locker room all up in arms.

First up: Derek Stepan and his scandalous jaw. After taking a suspendable hit from Brandon Prust during his first shift back at the Garden, Stepan first was knocked out on the ice, followed by a trip to the training room and eventually made it back to the ice. After the game, he was diagnosed with a fractured jaw and scheduled for surgery. Seems like an extremely painful situation, right?

Wrong. If you’re either Brendan Gallagher or Danny Briere, you’re not too convinced that Stepan’s jaw was really broken. I’ve heard some craziness in my day, but never in my life have I heard of made up surgery (a plate in Step’s jaw, no less) to… um…. well quite frankly I’m not sure what it would do. Pretty sure the Rangers aren’t looking to the Canadiens for get well soon cards. So what point is this group making, other than a discourse in complete unsportsmanlike behavior? It’s worth noting that both Doctors Gallagher and Briere were wrong, as Stepan is not playing tonight.

Samuelsson (and Sather, lol) visiting the Habs’ practice was confusing to me, only because I’m not quite sure what he was looking for. D-pairs? Line changes? Whatever. The point is that Michel Therrien got very upset (naturally) about their presence, citing a “gentleman’s agreement” which, according to Canaidiens personnel, did not exist. Furthermore, I’m fairly certain that with Therrien’s reputation, the word gentleman is not part of his vocabulary.

The point of this post, however, is not to rant on about the silly media tactics that have been apparently part of the Canadiens’ playbook this entire season. If you look at the Milan Lucic handshake-gate, you’d see several players saying that “what happens on the ice stays on the ice.” Is Lucic regarded by some as a piece of [work]? Yes. But do we know all that is said on that handshake line? Nope. And should we? Absolutely not. But we do, thanks to one Dale Weise, who spent approximately one second with the New York Rangers. And for reasons like that, we must ignore them.

The Canadiens are highly regarded for their speed and for their power play. The Rangers have proven to be the faster team through three games, and have held the Habs scoreless on their power play. As I said in my lovefest for AV last week, his quiet confidence seems to be getting things done. The reason the Rangers lost is because rookie goalie Dustin Tokarski stood on his head and shut down so many Martin St. Louis shots that it began to physically ache. They also lost Daniel Carcillo, who so many fans seem to have forgotten was a stud for the Rangers during the Philadelphia series.

In order for the Rangers to win, they need to focus on the ice. It is certainly hard to do when PK “give me all the respect but don’t look now cause I’m gonna slew foot Derek Dorsett after the whistle” Subban is acting up, something even the commentators called disgusting during the game, but I know that the Rangers are capable of it. As long as they focus on their game, they will throw the Canadiens off of theirs. It would be nice if Derek Stepan and his possibly broken jaw are able to come back for Game 5, and if Derick Brassard is able to come back tonight. What happens on the ice is what will win this series for the victor, not the complaints to the media.

"Let's take a moment to ignore the Habs", 5 out of 5 based on 16 ratings.

Coming into this series, I was excited about this classic Rangers / Habs matchup and a bit relieved about not having to face the increasing goonery of the Boston Bruins.

I know Montreal has a bit of a reputation for arrogance and gamesmanship, but I’m really disappointed in how low they’ve been willing to go.

This series has turned into a circus, and the Habs, from the coaches down to the players, seem intent on using the media to try to ignite controversies and try to get the Rangers stirred up and off their game.

It started with the Kreider incident. I know it was obviously a tough break to accept, losing Price in the first game. We’d all be livid if Hank got knocked out. But, any impartial observer knows that it was an unavoidable play caused by the Habs own defenseman, Emelin. The accusations against Kreider as the new Lucic were ridiculous, but at least Canadiens and their fans could be excused due to the sinking feeling they must have felt losing Price and going down 2 games to none.

But it’s just really got out of hand since then. Henrik was lucky in game 2 (PK). Prust cheap shots Stepan in game 3. Desharnais and Therrien call it a clean hit. Gallagher and Brierre then accuse the Rangers of faking the broken jaw in an attempt to influence the Prust disciplinary decision. Now we have Therrien complaining about the presence of Samuelson at their practice. It’s just one thing after another.

I’m beginning to despise the Candiens.

But, I absolutely agree, the Rangers need to try to ignore it all. Respond on the ice. Finish this series!

This is THE game of the Series. If they lose it, all the pressure will be on them just to stay in it. They can’t afford to let Montreal get any momentum. They outplayed the Habs in game 3, so there is not too much that has to change. They need to finish(Hear that Mr. Nash?) They can’t waste pp chances; and more importantly they can’t be putting goals in off their own defense men. Hank has to be a wall. If he loses this game, he’s in for a shitload of pressure going forward. He needs to win the game, and force Montreal to the edge of the cliff. PITCH A SHUTOUT!!!! Again, its right there for them. TAKE IT!!!!!

Most of that crap doesn’t bother me and it shouldn’t get to the Ranger players either. The only thing to come from the Canadiens that I found tasteless and crossing the line was Thierren saying that they know where Brassard was injured and it’s no secret. I’m sure that was likely directed at the Stepan hit and injury but are you kidding me! Are you going after Brassard now? If the Rangers lose this game or are loosing late in 3rd with little chance of a come back. AV should direct Miller to hit One of their top 6 Centers. Clean hit just hit him real good. Lay him out. This is a must win game tho. As much as it can be.

Briere is so sweet, and he ment well by saying Stepan was faking it! He should know, how many times I watched him, while playing for Filthadelphia, and he would fake injury, that purse swinging fruit cake.

Let’s just go out there and play the game as we do best, beat this team of dirtbags, and shut them up. What I would do if I were AV, I’d tell the boys finish your checks, hit them hard, and often. Should Subban come into our zone, flatten him on his rump, maybe he’ll get a headacke from landing on his ass!!